Membranophones, or drums, are perhaps the first instruments ever used by mankind. For ages, they have been used to communicate and “keep the beat” in musical performances and ceremonies. Despite their relatively simplistic construction, many varieties of drums have been developed. Among these varieties of drums is what is usually called “hand drums.” A hand drum a percussive musical instrument consisting of a resonating chamber and membrane stretched over one or both ends of the resonating chamber, played primarily (but not exclusively) with bare hands. This classification of percussion instrument includes, but is not limited to, the following drums: the djembe, conga, dunun, bugarabu, dumbek, darbuka, and the bata. Each hand drum has its own tonal qualities; based upon its type, construction, dimensions and tuning. These tonal sounds are typically categorized as bass, tone, and slap. Variation of those qualities for a particular drum has, to this point, been limited to: the manner in which the membrane, or drum head, is struck; the tension applied to the drum head; and modifications made to the body of the drum. As a result, different drums are usually required to create different sounds. This limitation is present in all types of percussion instruments and is still seen today, where the percussion section of orchestras, bands and other ensembles has a plethora of different drums, all operated by one or more individuals and, in some cases, a given drum is only used for one song, or even a portion of one song.
To obtain different sounds from a single drum, three strategies may be employed. In the first, a drum would have to be re-tuned by tightening or loosening the tension mechanism of the drum or by incorporating a separate tension modifying mechanism. Sounds obtained by this re-tuning method are, however, still limited by the other qualities of the drum. Additional drums are still needed to obtain sounds beyond the capabilities and tuning of a given drum. Secondly, and in order to obtain a totally different sound, the drum head could be removed entirely and replaced with a different drum head. The third strategy involves permanently modifying the shape of the drum itself. These strategies modify the instrument as the drum head is intended to be a semi-permanent part of the drum and the drum body is permanent. They are time consuming. Also, animal skin drum heads are typically no longer usable after they are removed, so this strategy is not for temporary changes and quickly becomes cost prohibitive. Simply obtaining a different drum is generally much easier than total removal and re-installation of a drum head and is less wasteful and expensive.
The present invention is a system that will adjust the tonal qualities of any membranophone without any modification to the instrument itself and has particular use with hand drums. In so doing, fewer drums may be required in order to create a given range of sounds. Thus, the present invention reduces the initial cost of outlay in order to create a desired arsenal of percussive instruments. The present invention also allows a given drum to emanate different sounds, including imitating a sound from another kind of drum. The present invention also provides a degree of protection to a drum and allows use of a drum in inclement weather, which can damage natural skin and materials used in any membranophone, and with hand drums in particular.
The present invention represents a departure from the prior art in that the system of the present invention allows for the adjustment of a drum's tonal qualities by layering a plurality of covers over the drum head in a calculated manner to modify the drum's original tone. Prior art covers were used primarily for protection or for the purpose of muting the sound of a drum entirely. Changing tonal qualities of the drum, such as pitch, length of sound wave decay and the presence of overtones, has been previously accomplished by changing the tension of the drum head. The system according to the present invention does not mute the sound, but instead imparts a different and desired tonal quality to the sound emitted by a given drum by altering pitch, resonation decay, and overtone of the drum head and in the resonation chamber and is adjustable according to the desires of the player without modifying the instrument itself. It also performs these tasks without modifying the actual instrument.